What to Watch For: Cashless Society, World Money and More

Here are the five stories to watch this week and going forward. Included is the latest news out of the Brexit efforts, how a cashless society is already in the works and what moves world money and the SDRs have made now that China is in the currency basket.

A total of sixty members of the UK parliament, including seven former Cabinet ministers, have recently demanded that Theresa May remove Britain from the single economic market of the EU and its customs agreements amid fears that the current PM’s position on Brexit could be weakened considerably. Currently, there is much debate in the UK parliament on whether its MP’s must vote before invoking article 50, the EU mechanism required to leave the Union.

Mike Milne wrote in the Financial times that “The world’s oldest central bank — it was the first to issue paper banknotes in the 1660s — is launching a project to examine what a central bank-backed digital currency would look like and what challenges it would pose. It hopes to take a decision on whether to start issuing what it calls an ekrona in the next two years.”

As physical currency becomes more rare, this story shows government shift to a cashless society – more will surely fall behind in a growing trend to kill cash.

The price of oil hit a near three-week high today after a weakening US dollar and a full range of inflationary talk hit the euro zone causing the currency to also rise to its highest level in almost 10 months. Oil prices rose to three-week highs on Monday, supported by a weak dollar and helping to nudge a gauge of inflation expectations in the euro zone to its highest since January.

Reuters noted that the move was a response to “signs that OPEC was moving closer to a deal to cut output when it meets next week.” This news is important for an incoming white house administration and the likeliness of increased oil activity over the coming years.

4. Former CEO Of UBS And Credit Suisse: “Central Banks Are Past The Point Of No Return, It Will All End In A Crash” (ZeroHedge)

As Tyler Durden writes, “In an interview with Swiss Sonntags Blick titled appropriately enough “A Recession Is Sometimes Necessary”, the former CEO of UBS and Credit Suisse, Oswald Grübel, lashed out by criticizing the growing strength of central banks and their ‘supremacy over the markets and other banks’. The former chief executive officer claimed that the use of negative interest rates and huge positive balance sheets represent ‘weapons of mass destruction’. He calls for an end to the use of negative interest rates.”

This news comes as eye opening from a former insider who can see that the economic standing that currently exists could, and very well should, be in for a bumpy road ahead.

5. One Currency to Link Them All: The Rise of the Renminbi (Bangkok Post)

According to the Thailand editorial that quoted an HSBC adviser stating, “I would say the renminbi will be more widely recognised as an international currency after five to 10 years,” he said, noting that the renminbi could emerge as one of the four most used currencies in…” The story notes that use of Chinese currency is expected to go global and be a top competitor with the US dollar and UK pound sterling. As world money continues to rise out of the halls of the IMF, watching the currency war unfold is an important byline to pay attention to.

Good news is, the weather should hold up. Bad news is, there are going to be a lot of folks out on the road. According to AAA 2016 should have more people traveling for the holiday week than has been seen in the past nine years. What does that mean? Well, expect lines, traffic and some extra stuffing on the side.

After the surprising win of president-election Trump, the US government has seen its financial regulators begin to hastily act in order to complete a series of regulations set to “reign in” Wall Street. As President Obama’s last term in office comes to an end, Republicans have begun to urge congressional members to hold off on regulation until the next round of white house leadership is in place.

About Craig Wilson:

Craig Wilson is the Daily Reckoning’s Associate Editor. Prior working at Agora Financial, he was a researcher and writer who covered economics and international affairs. His work has appeared in The Nation, Bill Moyers, Tom Dispatch and various other outlets. Craig holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs.